Barton fighting for spot on Bears' roster

Friday

Aug 29, 2008 at 12:01 AMAug 29, 2008 at 7:11 PM

An Ohio native, Kirk Barton got a pretty close and personal look at a much better Cleveland Browns team Thursday night. Before family and friends, Barton played for the Chicago Bears during the final preseason game for both teams. Barton, a seventh-round draft pick out of Ohio State, is fighting for a roster spot.

Todd Porter

So this is what Kirk Barton’s future came to Thursday night.

Since the ninth grade in 1999 -- the year the Browns returned -- his family has had season tickets to Cleveland Browns Stadium. Barton has seen some bad Browns football back in those days.

He got a pretty close and personal look at a much better Cleveland team Thursday night. Before family and friends, Barton played from the middle of the second quarter through the end of the game for the Chicago Bears during the final preseason game for both teams. Barton, a seventh-round draft pick out of Ohio State, is fighting for a roster spot.

The guess is the 6-foot-4, 305-pounder will be among the nine or 10 offensive linemen the Bears keep on the active roster. But nothing is certain, especially not for a late-round draft pick.

The only time Barton had trouble came in his second series. He picked up a holding penalty that nearly pushed the Bears out of field goal range.

Barton, a media darling at Ohio State, didn’t lose his sense of humor.

The last preseason game is usually a battle among players you’ve never heard of, nor will after the third quarter. For a player like Barton, every preseason game is important.

“All the guys drafted after the fifth round, the last game is the world to us,” Barton said. “We’re not guaranteed anything.”

Helping Barton’s position is the fact that Chicago’s offensive line has been saddled with injuries. Chester Adams, another seventh-round selection from Georgia, went down on the final play of the first half with what appeared to be a serious injury to his left knee. Adams was carted off the field. Chris Williams, another rookie, had back surgery.

Adams and Barton are roommates, so the local kid was taking his friend’s injury hard.

Officially, Barton is listed as the second-team right tackle behind veteran John Tait. However, the Bears have worked him at right guard as well. That’s the kind of versatility that will buy a young player time to develop.

How well did Barton play? It depends on which series one examines.

“Other than the penalty and one other play in that series, both of which I’d like to have back, I thought I did all right,” Barton said.

Chicago will make its final roster cuts Saturday. Barton said he plans for the worst.

Each time he came off the field, he looked for Tait to get feedback on what he did right and what he didn’t. Tait, a veteran, has been impressed with the rookie backing him up.

“Kirk’s a good player,” Tait said. “He played well, especially for coming back home in a stadium where he grew up. Kirk’s a good enough player and I think he’s got a really good shot (to make the team).”

Barton’s first action came midway through the second quarter. He was on the field for Chicago’s entire 13-play, 95-yard drive, the Bears’ first scoring drive that tightened the game to 10-7, Cleveland. The Perry High School graduate and All-Big Ten tackle did nothing that would hurt his chances of making the roster.

In fact, he threw a key block on a third-and-10 pass from the Cleveland 19.

Barton, working against linebacker Alex Hall, made sure Hall didn’t beat him to the outside. One final shove sent Hall to the ground before he got to quarterback Rex Grossman.

That allowed Grossman enough time to complete a 19-yard touchdown pass to Brandon Rideau to cut into Cleveland’s lead, 10-7.

In all, Barton probably did enough to earn a roster spot.

“If not, I’ll be covering games for The Repository next weekend,” he joked.